Posted on 06/21/2006 4:34:34 AM PDT by Brilliant
DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. - Once portals that lured gold-seeking pioneers, the black holes that dot the sun-baked mountainsides of this California desert haunt J.T. Reynolds.
The Death Valley National Park superintendent fears tourists will tumble down the decrepit shafts or vanish into the rocky tunnels that abound in his park's famed Gold Rush-era mines and ghost towns.
To make some 6,000 shafts and caves completely safe would take money that Reynolds does not have.
"Most visitors do not realize that park resources have been under threat from deterioration, vandalism, neglect and rot for some time," Reynolds said. "We put up a good front and try to keep high visitor-use areas clean and neat. Even this facade is fading due to the lack of appropriate resources."
Across the 390 parks, preserves and historic sites that make up the 90-year-old national park system, Reynolds' colleagues face similar tough choices as rising costs from labor, maintenance, operations and preservation exceed wartime budgets from Washington.
For example:
_Alaska's Denali National Park has cut campfire talks and ranger interpretation programs by 50 percent over five years.
_Four out of 10 historic buildings at Gettysburg's hallowed battlefields in Pennsylvania and the neighboring Eisenhower National Historic Site are in poor or serious condition.
_65 percent of park roads are in poor to fair condition.
_Campgrounds and visitor centers at Blue Ridge National Parkway opened a month late this year to save money.
• When winter rain visits Death Valley, the bucket comes out near the visitor center cash register. Before the leaky ceiling got a temporary patch job, a soggy chunk landed on a woman paying her entrance fee.
THE MONEY PICTURE
Some parks have received $4.7 billion in long-awaited money from the Bush administration for decaying roads and structures that were on maintenance backlog lists for years.
But managers at many parks report they are losing ground in maintaining and protecting their current resources while facing increased costs for security, workers, energy and the crush of 270 million annual visitors.
The Interior Department says it believes the parks have fared better than many federal agencies during a time of war and budget constraints.
"Our parks are in better shape than they were 10 years ago. We've completed over 6,000 maintenance projects," said Lynn Scarlett, who was recently acting secretary. "We've just about tripled the science money spent in parks."
It's not such a rosy picture at all parks.
Managers at Yosemite National Park in California said the operating budget is 32 percent short of park needs.
"If the park continues on its current vector, irreplaceable natural and cultural resources will be placed at risk: Severely underfunded activities include maintaining historic architecture and controlling invasive plant and animal species," the park managers wrote in their latest business plan.
The future appears even more uncertain. President Bush wants the government to cover just 70 percent of the parks' anticipated payroll and utility costs in 2007, down from 100 percent this year.
That has left parks scrambling for alternate sources of money, such as charitable donations.
CHARITY, HIGHER PARK FEES
Philanthropic groups spent more than $60 million on parks last year, doubling their contribution of a decade ago, said Curt Buchholtz, president of the National Parks Friends Alliance. Such donations helped pay for enhancements such as the $13.5 million Yosemite Falls entrance.
But billions are ultimately needed.
"The frustration we have is we are in a budgetary decline and it's harder to do operations in the field, and philanthropy is not going to be the answer to that," said Jon Jarvis, the Park Service's Pacific West regional director.
Many parks have raised fees or are considering increases at their entry gates, campsites and boat ramps.
This year, 21 of the 147 parks that charge fees raised their rates an average of $1 per person and $5 per car.
TODAY'S WORRIES, TOMORROW'S PROBLEMS:
Park supervisors appreciate the recent money to clear backlogs. Fort Scott National Historic Site in Kansas received a $90,000 boost in 2005 that pulled the park operating budget out of the red, and received money for 12 roofs plus work on chimneys, walkways and a security alarm system.
"The park's in much better shape than it was six years ago," superintendent John Daugherty said.
But most park managers worry that solving yesterday's problems without enough money for today's maintenance only creates new backlogs for tomorrow. Some parks report daily operating budget shortfalls in excess of 50 percent.
"Sooner or later the repair is beyond the capability of our operating budget. The leaking roof you had now becomes a failing roof that has to be replaced," said Gettysburg National Military Park superintendent John Latscher. He estimates the park's backlog at $43 million.
At Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin, a $1.3 million renovation has been approved for a historic lighthouse that had suffered severe water damage after a lack of maintenance doomed its last fix-up.
"I'm really scared the same thing will happen again," superintendent Bob Krumenaker said.
The director of the Park Service, Fran Mainella, dismisses some worries, saying estimates of some daily operating shortfalls resemble a wish list of work that could be done rather than urgent priorities that must be accomplished.
Adds Interior's Scarlett: "Our park employees love what they do with a passion. They've got imagination. They've got great visions for the future. But it's not appropriate to think of that as an operative shortfall."
HEADQUARTER BUZZWORDS: INNOVATION AND EFFICIENCY
With little hope of a massive infusion of public money, the parks are being pressed by Washington to set clear priorities and meet them through creativity and efficiency. That means more volunteer labor, increased fundraising, higher fees and fewer visitor center hours.
Apostle Islands already is running fewer boat patrols to compensate for higher fuel costs. Krumenaker said the pressure to find new money led him to briefly consider converting some lighthouses into bed-and-breakfast inns.
He ultimately rejected the idea. "That is not what I went to graduate school for," the superintendent said.
Reynolds winced as he described the trade-offs he has made at Death Valley. Just 15 rangers now patrol 3.4 million California acres, a four-person crew maintains 1,000 miles of paved and dirt roads, and the park has reduced restroom cleaning schedules.
"It is one frustrating juggling act," he said.
CUTBACKS ABOUND
Some solutions ultimately involve cutting back.
Unable to pay for salary increases imposed by Congress, parks are doing without positions: a botanist for Death Valley, a canon preservationist at Gettysburg, a trained curator for Big Bend's 125,000-item collection of American Indian and Texas Republic artifacts.
"We are frequently getting new items and nobody with the credentials to do that right," Big Bend superintendent John King said.
At other parks:
_Hikers in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona encounter mounds of trash where illegal immigrants and drug dealers cross from Mexico. Superintendent Kathy Billings said work on cleanup, potholes and painting suffers while her ranger force, with $1 million-a-year in extra money, devotes 75 percent of its time to the illegal border crossings. The visitor center is now shuttered most holidays.
_Blue Ridge Parkway's maintenance staff in Virginia is operating at two-thirds strength, meaning less grass mowing, restroom cleaning and trail clearing, superintendent Phil Francis said.
_Point Reyes National Seashore in California has cut ranger-led programs by 500, to 1,300 a year.
PARKGOERS FEEL THE IMPACT
Jim Boone, of Olympia, Wash., was disgusted by a dingy restroom during a recent visit to Yosemite.
"It looked like nothing had been done to it in the last 30 years. It was in really bad shape. It needed to be completely rejuvenated or torn down and rebuilt," Boone said.
The familiar green and gray ranger uniform also is less visible as volunteers and concession workers take over many jobs.
From a Death Valley overlook, Lieve Jerger, a wildflower enthusiast from San Pedro, Calif., gazed at the valley's salt-encrusted floor. "I haven't noticed any rangers. In the past you'd see them around the park. Now you're more on your own."
WHAT NEXT?
Park managers have few short-term options in an environment of security concerns, high fuel prices and budget deficits.
Two-thirds of Americans would support fee increases if the extra money were used for road and building improvements as Bush has emphasized, an AP-Ipsos poll found.
Charitable organizations continue to help but usually want their money spent on projects that enrich parks' experiences, not daily operations, said Ken Olson, who until recently was president of Friends of Acadia, a group helping Maine's most famous park.
"Government is the landlord. The landlord is responsible for taking care of it," Olson said. "They are the steward to maintain it for future generations."
Though he delivered significant backlog money, Bush is now pressing to cut the parks overall by $100 million for 2007. Day-to-day operations would increase slightly, but still at a lower level than in recent years.
Many in Congress are not satisfied, but some of their solutions sound like those from Park Service headquarters.
"The cost of operations has gone up, there's no question about that," said Sen. Craig Thomas (news, bio, voting record), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee on national parks.
"At the same time when that happens you have to find new ways to be efficient, you have to find new ways of management," said Thomas, R-Wyo., who has proposed a $150 million increase for parks.
...or the Federal Government, which owns most of the western U.S., could sell some of their holdings to private individuals or corporations. The Feds obviously can't take care of it.
"To make some 6,000 shafts and caves completely safe would take money that Reynolds does not have."
Dynamite them closed. Next?
"When winter rain visits Death Valley, the bucket comes out near the visitor center cash register. Before the leaky ceiling got a temporary patch job...'
That's all you need to know about the fat-ass bureaucratic culture.
They're too damn stupid and lazy to buy a bucket of roof tar, climb up the ladder and patch the hole.
Sell off the federal socialist commons to the private sector and the parks will be fixed. And fire every bureaucrat.
Speaking of falling down mineshafts, a guy in Alta California died a few months ago when his *house* collapsed into a mineshaft that ran below it. Nobody knew the shaft even existed and so they built over the top of it.
Bad luck, and he was reportedly a nice guy too.
Yes, the feds have too much property as it is. They sure have the budget to continue some things though. This problem with the parks has gone on forever, not just with Bush.
The park service could also get out of the law enforcement business. They have plenty of money for that.
IMO, the parks system is really run for the benefit of the people running the parks and not the visitors. If they had less visitors it would be fine by them.
Looks like the annual story before they start lobbying for a larger budget.
Soon to follow will be the story about the Hubble Space Telescope getting canceled again.
Last month the story was about the Tropical Prediction Center getting it's funding cut.
Too many visitors will damage the infrastructure, so raise fees, maybe introduce a lottery system for tickets. As far as the mineshafts etc, post warning signs at main lots and then you're on your own (common sense applies).
We have hundreds of mine shafts in our area. The proper way to solve the problem is to cap the shafts, usually with cement slabs. We also have a mining inspector who travels the territory making certain the caps are in good repair.
Of course hiring a person who actually has a skill and actually works for a living will entail spending money. That might mean decreasing the salary of worthless federal bureaucrats or firing one. And we can't have that.
--nobody has fallen into them yet. To make them "completely" safe means close the park. This is the usual annual budget bleating--
I agree with most, except I would not only raise prices to Disney level, I'd have Disney run them on long leases under certain stipulations. I also imagine that there are some marginal parks that should be sold.
Just the usual whining for money. Why should they raise entry fees when its the taxpayers money already being used? Disney is a private company and should be free to charge more.
Sell the damn property to the citizens on auction, ebay or whatever. Private property means more money for the school district and the chiiilllldreeeeennnn.
Seems to be a concerted effort recently by the drive-by media to criticize the lack of funding and the overuse of our national parks. This is about the 3rd article on this theme I've seen in just the past few weeks.
I agree that those who use the parks should pay more. Why should someone who never sets foot inside a national park subsidize those who do?
Charging more would discourage those tourists who drive to the parks, stay an hour or two to glimpse the highlights and snap some pictures, then move on to the next one. That would cut out a lot of the traffic.
I know it was T. Roosevelt's goal that the national parks would be a treasure that all people could visit and enjoy (used to be for free) but he could never have envisioned the current rate of park visititation.
When will people wise up and realize we've been on a war footing for, oh, the past few years?
We're so lucky, we are not experiencing the shortages our parents and grandparents endured. So the national park system is having to make do with less money?
Boo hoo.
You are right.........The above article ran in our local rag, and directly next to it was a puff piece on how the Feds were changing the rules on parks to eliminate "recreational uses" in favor of "conservation". In other words, elimination of vehicles and snowmobiles in favor of the tree-huggers. Now they bitch because there is no money. I would suggest that they charge the tree-huggers more to "experience nature".
Eliminate the little wannabe hitlers, who rather than providing a service, always degenerate into rule-making idiots with delusions of grandeur.
Other than building and maintaining access roads, we don't need a single welfare-by-another name doofus in a funny hat.
We could save billions. Immediately.
You nailed it.
My guess would be that 99% of the visitors to Death Valley never get close to a mine shaft. Just those that explore the back country in a 4X4 and most of those have enough sense to stay out of old mine shafts.
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